Beautiful Dream
by sqrlbrd
Summary: Izayoi never thought that she would be different. She was aware of what her life would be and she accepted it. That is, until she met a certain dog demon...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not own any part of Inuyasha, I'm just borrowing part of the story to play with for a while

Beautiful dreamer, beam on my heart,

E'en as the morn on the streamlet and sea;

Then will all clouds of sorrow depart, -

Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!

~ Stephen Foster

The sky outside was dark and gloomy, glowing with an almost otherworldly green light. Izayoi sat in the doorway of her room feet playing against the dry earth. She watched as the trees on the other side of the palace wall began to toss their heads in protest of the coming storm. Gradually the temperature began to drop and a faint drizzle began to fall, lightly soaking her layers of her juni-hitoe. She began to hum a childhood song as the rain picked up and fell harder and harder, the tune making an eerie counterpoint to the low howling of the wind. For once she was content. Normally she was so busy in the closed confines of the palace that she rarely got a few precious moments to watch the world around her. Because of the rain, she was alone except for the guards which were stationed throughout the compound to ensure her family's safety. It was blissful, the smell of the air and the wind like an exotic perfume which permeated every cell of her body. She loved the rain. However, Izayoi was not fated to long enjoy her moment of bliss. Izayoi heard the inner door of her room slide open as light footsteps began to approach her.

"Izayoi-sama! Izayoi-sama!"

The worried call of her attendants broke Izayoi's concentration. Wearily Izayoi slipped off her sandals and stood within the confines of her room. A soft smile graced her face as she slowly turned to face her servants Hina and Misaki. Their scowling faces didn't do a thing to dampen Izayoi's mood.

"I know, not the most princess like behavior. Correct?" Izayoi said with a slight laugh, holding up her hand in an effort to head off the protests that she knew were coming. "I couldn't help myself. Look at how beautiful the land that the kami has blessed us with is… It would be unfitting to not honor their blessing with a few moments of contemplation."

Izayoi knew that her words had had no impact on her upset attendants when their scowling faces didn't lighten at all.

"Izayoi-sama, you know very well that although it is befitting of your station to recognize the beauty of this land, it is not befitting for you to do it outside in the pouring rain. Not only could you catch cold, but you are also are ruining your clothing. Not to mention I have a feeling you were 'contemplating' for far more than a few moments." Misaki said with a dark look, her brown eyes filled with disapproval. Misaki was quite obviously not in the mood to deal with any unseemly behavior today. Her fingers were twitching at her side in irritation as she made her way closer to Izayoi to help her begin changing out of her soaked clothing.

Misaki was one year older than Izayoi at seventeen. She had long black hair and sharp features which cast dark shadows in the lamplight. She was considered quite a beauty among the members of Izayoi's father's court and was often sought out by the young men due to her wit and grace. It seemed as if Misaki had always been around Izayoi, from the time she could remember. Izayoi had seen Misaki around her father's court on and off for her entire life. Misaki's father had been a close friend of Izayoi's father and fought next to him in battle many times. Whenever Misaki's father visited the palace, he would bring Misaki to serve as a companion to his friend's younger daughter. Almost two years ago Misaki's father fell in battle. Because Misaki's mother had died giving birth and her father had never remarried, Misaki became an orphan at fifteen. Izayoi's father took in Misaki as his ward after his friend's death in honor of his memory and to keep his promise to protect and provide for Misaki should his friend die in battle. Consequently, Misaki took up a more permanent position as Izayoi's attendant upon her arrival. However, it was unclear how much longer she would remain with Izayoi. She was at the age of marriage, and the moment that Izayoi's father decided on a husband, Misaki would leave to go to her new home. Izayoi cherished every moment with Misaki because she never knew when it would be her last.

Next to Misaki stood Hina. Hina was fifteen, and a flighty fifteen at that. Immature and fun-loving, she had a petite frame, dark brown hair, and light brown eyes. Hina had traveled to Izayoi's home in order to meet and get to know the young men that surrounded the daimyo. It would be these men that would rise to power in the future and as the youngest daughter of a moderately known samurai, Hina needed any edge she could get to make an advantageous match in the future. Unfortunately, Hina didn't seem to recognize the fact that her future depended on making a positive impression on the young men at court. She was extremely flirtatious and wasn't extremely picky about which man she had the chance to flirt with. She flittered from man to man as a butterfly flies from flower to flower, staying but a moment before moving on. Izayoi supposed that in Hana's case, ignorance is bliss. Despite her faults, to Izayoi, Hina was like a breath of fresh air in the constricting atmosphere of the palace. However, at the moment Hina's customary care-free smile was gone, an irritated scowl in its place.

"Izayoi-sama, you do realize you are making so much more work for us!" Hana whined in irritation. "We'll be late to dinner at this rate and I wanted to talk to Hitoshi-sama. He's so handsome… I'll bet we have to sit in the corner now, while he sits next to some other gorgeous woman. I'll never get the chance to talk to him at this rate. Hitoshi-sama will be stolen away before I get the chance to win his heart!" Hana frantically waved her hands about during this dramatic tirade, completely neglecting to help Misaki with Izayoi's juni-hitoe.

Izayoi inwardly gave a sigh of irritation as she shed the sopping layers of her kimono and dried herself. Hana's attitude was starting to ruin the peaceful mood she had obtained in the rain. The inanity of her complaint began to wear on Izayoi's nerves, not that Izayoi could show her irritation. For the past sixteen years, Izayoi had learned the mannerisms and attitudes that befitted a princess. She had had her lessons drilled into her until she no longer had any problem hiding her true thoughts and feelings. It certainly wouldn't be proper to snap at Hana for her comments, especially considering that Hana's comments were not actually as bad as they normally were. They just seemed worse than normal when compared to the utter bliss that Izayoi had just experienced. It was a pity that Izayoi was losing her earlier peace of heart. For a while her soul had felt content and filled. Izayoi couldn't say why that particular rainfall had had such a strange influence on her heart, but she knew that the influence it had had was quickly fading.

Once Izayoi had donned a new dry juni-hitoe, she left her room to attend dinner accompanied by her two companions. As they walked Izayoi listened to the sound of their soft footsteps and the swishing noise of their kimonos. After a couple minutes of sedate travel, (a daimyo's daughter should never rush), Izayoi arrived at the doors leading to the dining hall. She waited patiently as the serving woman in the hall gently slid open the door, allowing Izayoi and her attendants to enter the room.

The dining hall was austere but in an intentional way. Strategically placed flower arrangements and a few wall hangings were the only adornment in the room. Izayoi's father and his advisers were already seated- along with Izayoi's mother Hiromi, and her two brothers Hideyoshi and Yoshiro. The entire Takahashi family was in attendance.

Izayoi's mother gave her a side look of disapproval as Izayoi made her way over to her empty place. Izayoi knew she was late but for some reason couldn't make herself feel badly for her tardiness. She shot a small smile back at her mother and gracefully sat down next to her younger brother Yoshiro. Yoshiro was seven years old and the darling of the court. His glossy black hair and black eyes only added to his natural charm. He was a loving and caring child, if a little spoiled due to the constant attention that was part of his life. He looked up at Izayoi when she sat down with an adoring smile. Yoshiro loved his older sister with all his heart. Her beauty, grace, and kind nature were legendary in his eyes. Izayoi always took time from her days of lessons and duties to spend with her baby brother. She was a constant fixture in Yoshiro's life.

Yoshiro knew better than to interrupt his father's conversation with his advisors to greet his sister, so he pretended to stretch his arm and grasped his sister's hand, squeezing it tightly. After that initial contact he retracted his small hand and returned to eating his food. Although Yoshiro was young and like all seven year olds a little antsy when forced to sit still for long periods of time, he knew how to behave politely when necessary.

Izayoi ate her dinner with small bites and no conversation. She sat elegantly and ate quietly in an effort to make up for her late arrival. Eventually her mother's lips no longer twisted slightly in disapproval when glancing at her daughter and Izayoi began to relax a bit.

Her father and his counselors were deep in conversation about trade routes and the amount of protection necessary for caravans when traveling across the Takahashi lands. The discussion became quite animated at one point when one of the counselors described the desolation left behind from a bandit attack that had decimated one of the caravans that he had invested a great deal of his fortune in.

"There weren't big enough pieces of the men to identify the bodies! These bandits are brutal; they care nothing for the dead or the living. They remind me more of demons than men. In fact I expected it to be a demon attack until the local miko said that it defiantly wasn't the work of demons. The carnage was incredible! And don't even get me started on what little remained of the merchandise…."

The counselor stood up for emphasis and raised his voice.

"Those bandits are a menace that must be dealt with immediately! Who knows who they will go after next? It could be any one of us. They are becoming much too bold, they must be destroyed!"

Izayoi's father gave a stony smile and said calmly and deliberately, "Kiyoshi-san. Can you please sit down so we can discuss this politely? Some things should be discussed in a more proper setting." With his final words Izayoi's father's eyes flashed with warning. The counselor sat abruptly, as if his legs had lost their strength.

"Of course, I'm sorry Takahashi-sama. Forgive my impoliteness. My actions were unworthy of your company. My soul has just been moved for the plight of those poor men who sacrificed their lives for my benefit."

Izayoi's father smiled warmly, "Of course, all is forgiven." Then, directing his attention to the entire hall he proclaimed, "I do believe that I will retire now. Thank you for the meal."

With that statement he calmly rose and stalked out of the room, his counselors following him like chicks following their mother.

Izayoi relaxed in her futon, feeling her muscles relax and unwind. Her day had been much like any other. Nothing was different- nothing was new. She could feel the weight of her life pressing down on her body, making her long for her dreams where she could find some form of freedom.

It was not that Izayoi felt like her life was bad. She knew that she had been blessed beyond measure by the kami. She felt their goodwill in every part of her life, and she would never deny their goodness to her. Izayoi just felt caged, locked in routine. She had been living a certain way for so long that she was afraid she would remain this way forever. Today it was her father's house and sometime in the near future it would be the house of some lord her father wanted to reward or impress. Izayoi was property, she knew that. She was a pawn to her family's will. She was bound by the ropes of familial duty and love.

If that was her fate so be it. She would find some way to become content. Most of the time she was content, but sometimes something changed. Sometimes, she felt a call, like when she had sat in the rain before dinner. Izayoi had felt that there was something so vast-so great she could almost touch it calling her. It was a peace that permeated every part of her being. Earlier she had been unable to describe what it was, but she now thought that she might possibly be beginning to understand what it was. Izayoi knew something was about to change. There was something bigger waiting for her and it was coming towards her faster than she could possibly imagine.

A/N: Hello everyone! This is my first story ever on fanfiction so I would appreciate any and all feedback. Any and all reviews are welcome. Like I said, this is a first attempt so please bear with me as I strive to figure out exactly how my writing will progress. I don't know when I will post next but hopefully it will be within the next week. Thank you all very much for reading. Arigato gozimasu!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any character or any part of Inuyasha. I'm just borrowing them to play with in my mind for a while.

The night is darkening round me,

The wild winds coldly blow ;

But a tyrant spell has bound me,

And I cannot, cannot go.

The giant trees are bending

Their bare boughs weighed with snow ;

The storm is fast descending,

And yet I cannot go.

Clouds beyond clouds above me,

Wastes beyond wastes below ;

But nothing drear can move me :

I will not, cannot go.

~ Emily Bronte

Izayoi's palanquin bounced roughly back and forth as the bearers struggled to make their way down the road. So far from the city the roadway had disintegrated into a rough path surrounded by arching trees. They were no longer in polite civilization. Izayoi's muscles cramped from holding herself still for so long began to protest their treatment with sharp shoots of pain. Izayoi had longed for something different, but it wasn't exactly as wonderful as she had expected. The place where she was headed was not where she longed to go. It wasn't as if she knew exactly what she wanted, but all she did know was that this was not a fate that she looked forward too.

Izayoi wanted to get out. After many hours of travel she needed to stop and breathe fresh air again, she needed a break from all of her thoughts. Izayoi hadn't heard any shouted warnings from the guards in a while and Izayoi didn't know how much longer she could take the cramped conditions. A quiet whimper from Hina caused Izayoi to glance up quickly in her direction. Seeing the look of pain flutter across Hina's face made up Izayoi's mind, they could not remain like this any longer.

"Halt!" Izayoi cried, silently sighing in relief as the bumpy ride came to a stop. Slowly she stepped out of the palanquin, stretching her abused legs and arms. Carefully holding the folds of her traveling kimono out of the mud she took a few steps forward so Hina could join her outside of the palanquin.

Pounding hoof beats coming towards her, broke Izayoi out of her thoughts of bliss. Slowly she turned to the guard who dismounted and approached her with a scowl on his face.

"Izayoi-hime, we cannot stay stopped for much longer. These woods are not the place to take a break and tarry any longer than needed. We must continue."

Izayoi glanced around her at the trees and then turned her sights back to the irate guard. "Of course," she replied smoothly "but at least allow us a minute longer to stretch. My lady and I have been in that cramped palanquin the entire day, surely five minutes outside of its confines won't cause any harm?"

Hina came up behind Izayoi and grabbed her hand. Looking up at the guard with a simper on her face she begged, "Please? We have been in there very long and it will only be for a couple minutes!" The guard gave a look of disgust before it melted and finally he nodded his assent.

"Only a couple more minutes. This area is not the most ideal place to stop. The road is too narrow for us to completely protect you. Enjoy your freedom while you have it." He stalked away from the palanquin, horse reigns in hand to go talk to the other samurai in the group.

Hina gave a quick twirl, hands outstretched and head turned up to the sky. "Izayoi-hime, I'm so happy we got to go on this trip! Today is wonderful!"

Izayoi tolerantly, shook her head in agreement and glanced towards the woods. Twilight was coming and as the sun slowly began to set the woods around her began to look more and more ominous. Izayoi had a bad feeling, something was not right. She could almost swear that there were figures dancing in the corner of her sight, flitting from tree to tree. Izayoi knew that it was mostly in her mind. The shadows of the leaves shifting in the wind, but she still could not rid herself of her anxiety.

Quickly, she grabbed Hina's hand and marched her back to the palanquin, despite Hina's protests. As Izayoi began pushing the wooden door of the palanquin open she heard a shout, "Bandits!". Gurgles of pain and the sound of drawn swords rang through the forest and straight into Izayoi's ears.

"Quickly!" she snapped at Hina, pushing her into the palanquin. Climbing in after her and shutting the door tight Izayoi hugged the trembling girl and prayed that they would be fine. The clash of swords and the twang of loosed arrows permeated the walls of the palanquin, as did the cries of the dying men.

Something struck the wall of the palanquin, and the Izayoi heard the thud of a body as it slid down across the wall. Hina was crying in fear, trembling in Izayoi's arms. That was the funny thing. Izayoi knew she should be just as afraid as Hina. She knew that deep inside she was terrified, but Izayoi still had a clear head. She would deal with whatever fate dealt her and only after, would she allow herself the luxury of expressing her fear.

The door of the palanquin began to open as the noise of battle still continued. A hand with dirt encrusted nails and boils darted in and grabbed Hina's ankle. Hina screamed in terror and started to kick at the hand. The door was thrust open and Izayoi could see the gap-toothed grinning face of their attacker and the leering face of his friend. The gap-toothed man yanked Hina out of the palanquin and onto the muddy ground. Hina was still crying out in fear as the man picked her up and carried her to an unmanned horse, setting her over the saddle and climbing up behind her.

Izayoi fought her attacker as well. Izayoi bit and clawed, kicked and punched to no avail. The leering bandit manhandled her onto a horse as well. Izayoi knew that she and Hina were in great danger, and as the horses began to move, all Izayoi could see was the muddy ground soaked in red blood.

A/N: Hello again! I know its been a while since my last post, but hopefully it will pick up a bit. Thanks to LittleMissMurderess for her incitement to continue. If you read this please shoot a review. It really makes writing a whole lot easier. Arigato :)


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Inuyasha.

Cruelty has a human heart,  
>And Jealousy a human face;<br>Terror the human form divine,  
>And Secrecy the human dress.<p>

~ William Blake

The stink of sweat and unwashed bodies was almost unbearable as Izayoi was carried away from her guards on the back of a ragged old nag. Izayoi could feel all her bones jar against one another with every step the horse took. The bandit's saddle rubbed against her side painfully. Izayoi could only pray that the ride would not be a long one. As the leering man made his way through the woods, Izayoi could see bandits making their way in the same general direction out of the corner of her eye.

After a few minutes, the horse had arrived at the bandits' camp. The camp was situated by a cave in a cliff, hidden away by an outcropping of rock that blocked the majority of the forest from sight. There was a spring next to the cliff, bubbling cheerfully in sharp contrast to the rest of the camp. Men wearing ragged clothing and rusty armor made their way around the camp, gathering wood and water and gambling for the spoils obtained from Izayoi's retinue. Corse comments and lewd laughter greeted Izayoi and Hina's entrance as gap-tooth and leerer made their way to the picket lines. Izayoi was hauled down from the horse and unceremoniously dumped by the fire pit next to Hina.

Hina was quietly sobbing into her knees. The bandits had not bothered to tie the two girls up for the time being, which was a small blessing that Izayoi thanked the kami for. Izayoi knelt next to Hina to make sure that she was unharmed. Hina's kimono was drenched with mud and blood and her hair was matted with filth where the bandit had grabbed it and yanked her towards the horse. Bruises colored her wrists and face and that was just the visible ones.

Izayoi didn't want to see what she looked like. She knew that she was probably just as bad or worse than Hina. A painful ache constantly throbbed against her side where it had rubbed against the saddle of her captor. Dully she looked down at her hands, only to see her fingernails torn and missing.

Her hands looked radically different from earlier that day. Earlier, they had been a princesses hands. White and soft with neatly trimmed nails. Now they looked like they had been through a war.

Hina was still crying, small whimpers of pain fighting through her sobbing.

"Shut up, ya bitch!" One of the bandits who was currently gambling yelled out. His buddies laughed and nudged each other.

"Can't handle a women crying?" One of them asked, his voice scornful.

"O' course I can, doesn't mean I like it though." The bandit replied resentfully. " I like my women quiet, quiet as the grave." He gave a few sniggers and turned back to his game.

"Don't worry," The leering man replied. "You'll get your wish soon enough if we can't get ransom for these two."

Izayoi's eyes went wide and her thoughts raced. Surely her father would pay the ransom! Or her…. never mind that, she would be free! But how long would it take for word to get to her father, much less the money?

Izayoi glanced around the camp, searching for anything that might indicate their fate while they waited for the ransom. She noticed that there were only two women in the camp, dirty and clothed in rags they were chopping vegetables and washing rice, obviously preparing a meal for the bandits.

Both of the women seemed more like wild animals than actual humans. They quickly scampered from place to place and seemed huddled in on themselves. They never looked up, not even once and seemed to flinch at every noise.

Izayoi didn't want to become like them. She was the daughter of a lord and she would act like it. She would be lying however if she said that she was afraid of what made those two women so beaten down.

The women approached the fire and placed a kettle over it. They then started making a soupy rice substance for dinner.

Izayoi thanked the kami that the men were too busy gambling and drinking to pay any attention to her and Hina.

Izayoi was staring into the flames when she heard a soft whisper. "Hime?" Startled Izayoi looked over at the smaller women who had been washing the rice earlier.

"Hime?" The women asked again, her voice strained and desperate.

"Yes?" Izayoi replied softly, quietly moving a bit closer to the smaller women.

The woman sneakily handed her a small piece of bread. "You and the other girl, eat that. They'll not feed you." Izayoi smiled in thanks. The woman gave a quick look around and glanced at her counterpart who was currently fixing the meal. "Watch out for Nanako, she'll do anything to escape a beating. Don't cross her. You must be careful. Right now the men are happy, but once they get a little more drink in 'em you and that girl better watch out."

Izayoi was puzzled, what more could her captors do? They had slaughtered her guards, kidnapped her and Hani, and now they were ransoming her father for an extortionate amount of gold. "What will they do?"

The smaller women shuddered and replied softly, "Just because they'll return you after the ransom, it doesn't mean that you have to be in perfect condition. Do you understand?"

Izayoi shook her head in horror. Even after all the bandits had done she hadn't imagined that they would be so beastly that they would commit this last indignity. Quickly she turned to the woman and replied.

"Don't tell Hani, I don't believe that she could bear it if she knew like this. I'll let her know later." Then, Izayoi gave a small sad smile. "Thank you for your bravery. I will remember your kindness." The woman gave a quick nod. Izayoi realized that she had one more question to ask.

"Tell me, what is your name?" The woman paused and stared into the distance and then quickly replied.

"My name is Aya, now be careful and hope they forget about you." Aya turned back towards the fire and continued her work.

A/N: I know! Two posts in one day. Hopefully I'll be keeping up with the posts now, although I don't know how often I will post. Please read AND review. It really helps! Arigato!


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